I love to shop, especially on the Internet. And as much as I love a good bargain, I’m also a stickler for customer service. And that was one reason I was very happy to see the Utah voucher program go down in flames last week.

Yes, online shopping and school vouchers are indeed related, thanks to Patrick Byrne, the president and chairman of Overstock.com. Byrne’s been throwing money at the pro-voucher campaign in Utah. As the head of First Class Education, a lobbying group, he hawks the “65 percent solution” to states, a mandate that 65 percent of education funds must be spent in the classroom.

I could spend the rest of this blog hashing out my thoughts on vouchers and school finance, but I’d rather defer to NSBA’s positions and rant about Overstock.com instead.

When I first discovered Overstock.com several years ago I was smitten with its vast selection and $2.99 shipping. A couple purchases brought me coupons and daily e-mails with specials, and I often couldn’t resist a quick browse through the site.

But one thing quickly became apparent: Nearly everything I ordered was slightly damaged—not horribly, but just enough so that it wasn’t worth the effort of sending it back. Value was OK, but not great. My final straw, though, came when I ordered dining room chairs from Overstock.com, and of course all six were damaged. This time I sent two back and asked for replacements.

And then I spent the next two months calling and e-mailing customer service reps based overseas trying to find my replacement chairs. Nobody could answer my questions. In short, I eventually demanded my money back, sent all Overstock.com e-mails to my spam folder, and vowed to only buy from companies (Costco, Nordstrom, REI, etc.) that have a clue about customer service and quality. Since my debacle last year, I’ve heard similar complaints about Overstock.com from friends and colleagues, and a quick Google search for Patrick Byrne and Overstock.com has turned up some even more interesting stories.

So I’d like to send this message to Mr. Byrne and the Overstock.com reps -- just in time for holiday shopping: Shut up about education and focus on your company’s customer service and quality control issues instead.

Joetta Sack-Min, Associate Editor